Category: Gaming

Can You Find Our Treasures at Origins Game Fair 2018?

The recent Geekway to the West as an absolute blast for Mike & me. (Hi there, Deanna here!) Now we’re only a few days away from heading to Origins Game Fair 2018 in Columbus, OH, and we’re hoping to see many of you there! This year’s theme is “Mystery,” so to play along, Playco Games is providing some mysterious fun of our own for everyone attending.

Mystery Treasure Hunt

Here is what we have in mind for a fun mystery game at Origins this year. I follow a couple of people on Instagram that like to hide trinkets and art prints in various places and then take photos that give hints as to where the item is hidden. These photos are shared on social media, and then the hunt is on! Once someone finds the item, they are asked to take a photo with it in the spot where they found it and share on social media with a special hashtag to let everyone know it has been found.

Well, we’ve got a few board-game related items that Mike & I will be hiding in and around Origins Game Fair especially for you guys! We will be posting daily hints on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram channels. The more of you that participate, the more items we’ll hide!

So far I have some keychains made from Civicus Dice Game dice, and for Danger! Danger! Dinosaur, some tiny dinosaurs that grow when you soak them in water. I haven’t come up with anything for Epic Monster Tea Party just yet, but I expect inspiration to strike soon. (Hopefully in enough time to create it before we leave for the convention!) All that you guys need to do is keep an eye out for the clues on one of the social media pages linked above and start searching!

There will be instructions on the treasure once you find it about sharing a photo with the hashtag #PlaycoTreasure, and we hope that you swing by our Booth #137 and show it off. We might even have a discount attached to the treasures! (Gotta run that by Mike first, but I’m pretty persuasive.)

Meet the Creator of Epic Monster Tea Party – Rob Couch

Robert B. Couch will be at Origins Game Fair this year, and the awesome news is that he will be at the Playco Games Booth #137 to visit with you! The bad news is, we haven’t set up any times yet, so we can’t tell you exactly when he will be there. We will, however, post times on social media when we have them. If you miss him at our booth but see the guy in this picture walking around, be sure to shake his hand for coming up with such an incredibly fun game! We are proud to be a part of it.

Geekway to the West

We want to thank both the Geekway to the West staff and all of the wonderful people that we met there for a terrific time. We met a lot of wonderful people at our booth. That convention runs so smoothly and is full of so much fun, we plan to be a part of it again next year too. If you didn’t have a chance to pick up one of our games and won’t be able to make it to Origins to see us, you can always order copies at www.PlaycoGames.com.

For those of you that will be at Origins Game Fair this year, please swing by Booth #137 to give some of our games a try, or if you already have a copy, just stop by to say hello!

Also, please follow Playco Games on either Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. We’ll be posting those treasure hunt clues daily during Origins, plus updates when we get the chance so that, even if you’re not able to attend this one, you can still be a part of all the fun. If you’d like to get blogs like this in your inbox (don’t worry, I don’t write them often,) sign up for our newsletter!

DID YOU KNOW that the week containing Thanksgiving in the United States is labeled as National Game & Puzzle Week? Well, until recently, we had no idea! Now that we do know, it really does make a lot of sense. Thanksgiving is a time to gather with family and friends, and tabletop games are a wonderful way to spend that time together. As a matter of fact, Playco Games has come up with a list of 8 reasons why playing board games is an excellent idea for everyone this holiday, as well as every day of the year.

It’s A Fun Way To Learn

Even when you’re enjoying yourself, laughing, and having a great time while you’re playing, you’re actually learning helpful and important skills when you tackle a tabletop game too. Things like decision making and reasoning are present in most games, and sometimes you are sharpening math and spelling skills, but doing it so quickly, you don’t even realize that you’re using some of those things that you learned in school that you never thought you’d use in real life! Patience is also another skill that gamers are practicing when playing with others. When it’s a great game, you may not realize you’re learning, but your brain remembers.

You Can Unplug

In this day and age, it’s difficult to pull yourself away from electronic devices. There are some wonderful digital games to play out there, and you can even play them with others online, but there’s just something special about sitting at a table and actually being face to face with other people. If you are going to force your kids (the little ones and the adult “kids-at-heart”) to turn off all of their electronics, family fun board games are the perfect way to make them forget all about those electronic gadgets… for a while, at least.

They Are Unplugged

Tabletop games don’t have to be plugged in, which means you don’t have to worry about the batteries running out or finding an outlet to plug them into before you can determine a winner. Simply set it up and get ready to escape.

It’s An Escape From Reality

Even if you’re playing a game that mimics real life, it’s not YOUR real life. You’re free to take chances and make mistakes that you never would in reality. There are also all kinds of fantastic games that immerse you in worlds you can only find in a great imagination. Forget the worries of reality for a while and enjoy a little game time fun. For instance, Playco Games offers a chance to build a brand new civilization, survive a dinosaur-filled jungle, or gobble up pesky little “heroes” in a tasty cup of tea. That’s not something most people get to do every day!

There Are Games For All Interests

No matter what you’re interested in, there’s bound to be a board game out there themed around it. You may have to do a little research if you have a very obscure hobby, but if we’re completely wrong and a game for your particular interest doesn’t exist, well, by all means, start making up your own! Game lovers are always happy to playtest a new game. Who knows? You may discover a new hobby you’re good at and give the world it’s next must-have board game!

There Are Games For All Ages

Games are made for every age-level and skill-level out there. Today, there are even a wide variety of “gateway games” that can help to take young kids and adults that are new to the hobby away from the classics you find at every big box store and slowly turn them into board game enthusiasts of a higher caliber. When made correctly, even games aimed at children are still fun for grown-ups to enjoy. (A lot of people have successfully done this!)

You Can Make New Friends

It can be awkward meeting new people for the first time, but playing tabletop games together is an excellent ice-breaker. You’re all focused on the task at hand, you’ll probably end up laughing together, and by the time the game is over, you’re loosened up enough to get to really know each other. There are a lot of gaming groups around the country, most likely in your hometown, that are always open to welcoming new members. After a couple of visits, you’re bound to have a new set of good friends.

They Teach Healthy Competition

Not only do board games help you learn the very important life lessons of being a good loser and a gracious winner, but they are actually good for your physical health too! Studies have been done that show they can lower your blood pressure, reduce stress, speed up your response time, and improve memory formation and cognitive skills.

So there you have it. Tabletop games are wonderful for your physical and mental health, and they’re a great way to socialize and enjoy an activity with family and friends. Sometime this week between the cooking, cleaning, eating, shopping, and all that other stuff that happens around the Thanksgiving holiday, carve out some time to sit down together and play some games. We’re willing to bet you’ll have such an incredible time, you’ll be playing far beyond just this week!

Hello there fellow tabletop game lovers! Playco Games had to take some time away from actively reaching out to everyone, but we’re back and ready to get social. Our Kickstarter campaign for Epic Monster Tea Party is headed your way in October, and not only will we be giving updates about that on all of our social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and even LinkedIn), but we hope to be playing demos with as many of our game-loving friends in mid-Missouri as possible.

Don’t get me wrong, this is an awesome game to play, no matter where you live, but Mike & I happen to be in Springfield, MO, so that’s where we’ll be playing. There will be a print-n-play version available during the Kickstarter campaign that you can download if you’d like to give it a try in your neck of the woods, or if you happen to be in a town not too far from us, shoot an email to info@playcogames.com and maybe we can meet up and give you a look at one of our demo copies. We’d be thrilled to play Danger Danger Dinosaur and Civicus Dice Game with you too! If we do any traveling outside of our general area to show off this exciting, family fun board game, we’ll be sure to let everyone know in advance.

We’ll be talking a lot more about Epic Monster Tea Party in the next few weeks leading up to its official Kickstarter launch in October. If you haven’t already, please follow us on your favorite form of social media for updates, and sign up for our newsletter to get the newest information sent directly to your inbox, sometimes before it’s posted anywhere else! For example, there will be a limited number of “Early Bird” discounted games available for the Kickstarter campaign, but you’ll need to get in on the deal early!! (Better get signed up.)